Happy Birthday Puggle!

Last week my baby boy turned one - where did that year go! On the weekend we had a little party to celebrate but I was so busy I didn't actually remember to take many photos. The birthday boy was actually feeling a little under the weather with a cold but rallied gallantly and made a nice appearance to eat lunch and cake, and mingle with the guests before retiring for a wee nap.

I returned to work part-time a couple of week ago and so despite having a long list of plans for this party (many due to a new Pintrest addiction), most things were left to the last minute. As a result I was up late the night before finishing the extra birthday bunting and binding a new birthday table cloth (what was I thinking - surly sleep is far more important?).

 

Anyway on the day the sun was shining, the kids played happily and Aussie Dad came to the rescue and made lots of sandwiches and organised the sausage rolls. I even got to enjoy a little drink and chat with our guests. 

1st Birthday Present

Yesterday Puggles' little friend turned one so it was time to dust off the sewing machine and whip up a little birthday crown and bib in double quick time.

I started the birthday crown last week but I also started back at work this week so I had not finished it. With an hour to spare after taking Junior to sport this morning I quickly finished it off and then made a dribble bib to match. I still had a draw string bag left over from making Nappy Bags last year so I popped in the crown and bib along with a book and a hand made card by Junior. 

Such a cute last minute present.

This moment - back to work!

{this moment}: A Friday tradition with Soulemama. One moment from this week, one that you want to hang onto and not forget. No words.

Enjoy your weekend!

Gruffalo Crumble

A couple of weeks ago my mum gave me a large box of Granny Smith apples which has resulted in lots of fruit crumble making in our house. If Junior had his way we would be eating "Gruffalo Crumble" (as he likes to call it), every night but we have tried to restrict it to the weekends. My favourite fruit crumble combination is apple and raspberry with the following favourite crumble topping;

Ingredients

6 Granny Smith Apples

1 1/2 cups of frozen raspberries

1/4 cup wholemeal flour

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup rolled oats

1/4 cup desiccated coconut

1/2 cup almond meal (original recipe called for chopped nuts but the almond meal is more kid friendly)

60 gm butter

Method

• Peel, core and quarter the apple and put in a saucepan with a dash of water and the lid on. I bring the water to the boil and then turn it off and let it steam while I prepare the crumble
• For the crumble I put the dry ingredients in a bowl and then rub in the butter.
• Place the apple in an oven proof dish (6 cup capacity) spread raspberries over the top.
• Sprinkle crumble mix over the fruit and bake in a 180 degree oven for about 30 minutes or until the top is crisp and golden.

Enjoy warm with lashings of cream or custard (or both).

Another birthday cape

These capes are becoming a bit of a standard gift for little boys birthday presents. This weekend our friend Nicholas turned 3 so I made him his very own super cape.

When I started making these I added a superman or batman logo but now I make them a little more generic so little ones can be who ever they want to be - Super Nicholas or Star Boy perhaps? Hope he likes them as much as my boys do.

Dribble boy!

Puggle has always been a dribbler but with a new tooth on the way (number 8) he is constantly drooling. If he doesn't wear a bit all day his shirt is soaked in no time so I go through a lot of bibs everyday. Being the third boy in the family a lot of his bibs have seen better days so I have been playing around making some new dribble bibs for him.

The first off my sewing machine is this little hippo number. I think it is very cute so I will be busy this weekend making a few more!

This moment - work in progress

{this moment}: A Friday tradition with Soulemama. One moment from this week, one that you want to hang onto and not forget. No words.

Our outdoor play space

It has been awhile since I have had a chance to write anything for this blog but I thought I would give you a guided tour of our outdoor play space - a place where I have been spending a lot of time lately.

The main area of our house we use for outdoor play is our paved patio area. Double french doors lead off our living room so I can keep an eye on the boys while I'm working in the kitchen or living room and they play outside.
The area just outside the double doors is covered so this is where we keep a small table for snacks and art projects, a large storage box for outdoor toys and an art easil with chalk board and paper.
In the corner is a small shelf which always has a box of playdough toys for the boys to get out whenever they like. This shelf also holds a table cloth to cover the main outdoor table for messy art project and our seasonal nature table is on top. In the corner you can see my table top with a lip which we use to set up various small word play scenes

Just around the corner is the cubby house which Aussie Dad installed for Juniors third birthday. It has a slide on the side, a climbing wall on the front and the stairs are hidden underneath - perfect for little people to access but not so good for Aussie Mum when she wants to get into the cubby.
I love that the sandpit is covered by the cubby because it is well shaded during our hot summers and the sand stays relatively dry for use between winter showers.

On the wall opposite the cubby we store some ride on toys and there is a tap which we use for water play during the summer, and for cleaning up messy art projects.

A tub lives under the outdoor chair and I usually leave a towel out for quick clean-ups and hand washing. The paving is a little hard for Puggle to crawl around on but he is almost walking now and the older boys love drawing race tracks and hop scotch with side-walk chalk

Hope you liked a tour of our outdoor play space. I will show you inside the cubby sometime when I can manage to get in there and take some photos.